The word hupostasis means "underlying state", or underlying substance.  In other words, that fundamental realitry that supports all else.  Neoplatonist worldview teaches that behind the surface phenomena that presents themselves to the senses are three such higher spiritual principles or hypostases: each one more sublime thna the preceeding.  These are: the One or Absolute, the Nous or Divine Mind, and the Psuche or World-Soul.    Each higher principle emanates the next, as its image.  The One is the transcendent, ineffable Source of all.  From this arises the Nous, the eternal, blissful, Divine Consciousness.  The Nous in turn generates the World-Soul, the creative consciousness which exists in time.  From and through the World-Soul is fashioned the material cosmos.  The Philosopher through contemplating the spiritual realities returns back to the Source, thus completing the cycle of precession (emanation) and return.

So much for philosophy and mysticism, but Neoplatonic thinkers also equated the hypostases with deities of the Greek pantheon.

The hypostases of Neoplatonism constitute a  well defined example of an emanationist representation of Reality - the idea that Reality begins with an original transcendent ineffable infinite Godhead or Absolute, and that this goes through various stages of diminuation or deprivation, the gradation from spirit to matter.

The Neoplatonic hypostases in relation to other esoteric systems of thought:

Plotinus (Neoplatonism)	Mahayana Buddhism	Kashmir Shaivism	Ibn Arabi (Sufism)	Kabbalah
hypostasis	trikaya	kala	hadrath	olam (World)
One	Dharmakaya	Paramashiva		En Sof
		Shiva tattwa
Divine Mind (Nous)	Sambhogakaya	Pure tattwas		Atzilut
		Pure-Impure		Beriah
World Soul	Nirmanakaya (subtle and gross bodies)	Impure		Yetzirah
				Asiyah
hyle (sense -world)		Earth

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